Who fancies Coffee and Cocktails?

Is it a café or a bar?

... or, if you're kicking over the traces: cocktails by day, then coffee to stop you from falling asleep, then more cocktails. Not a regime we champion, but certainly one that gets us through the working day.

Café-come-bars are a European staple and the blurring of the venue lines is becoming well established over here too, so we've hand-picked some venues who aren't too rigid about the drinks they serve.

And for those of you who really don't know if you want coffee or cocktails, may we suggest the Espresso Martini?

AIL Says: In their own words, colonial India-inspiredImperial Durbar offer “restoratives, remedies, sharpeners and stiffeners” which means in the morning there is coffee from southern India, masala chai and tea, while in the evening there are beers and cocktails with a bias towards gin.

AIL Says: You won’t find much that isn’t artisan, homemade or organic at blend, whether it’s their handmade chipolatas, in-house cakes made with organic flour, or coffee from artisan roasteryClimpsonand Sons.Plus at weekends they whip up excellent espresso martinis.

AIL Says: This Italian coffee shop has a concise menu of coffee, drinks, and charcuterie and cheese dishes to appease the munchies. The cocktails are courtesy of one Tony Conigliaro of 69 Colebrooke Row. For a cheap, quick fix try their Espresso al Bar for just £1.

AIL Says: This Kiwi coffee company began life as a roastery and coffee shop, they’ve since expanded operations to include plenty of options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To complement the menu there are craft beers, negronis and kiwi and strawberry cachaças.

AIL Says: The team behind Marylebone speakeasy Purl also run this all day venue in the commuter area of Surbiton. Upstairs there’s coffee and food during the day (including afternoon tea), and in the evening they turn the music up and mix up cocktails like the Bubblegum Martini. There’s even a Purl downstairs for Prohibition era-style drinking.

AIL Says: This quirky basement café near Covent Garden has been going strong for almost 30 years. It’s not surprising: there’s a huge cocktail list with drinks under £8, cheap salads, soups and sandwiches, free newspapers and good, strong coffee. It certainly stands out among the recent wave of trendy barista-led establishments, in a very good way.